This tutorial will show you how to have a program Run as administrator with full unrestricted elevated rights and privileges in Windows 8 and 8.1.

How to Run a Program as Administrator in Windows 8 and 8.1​

Information

If a program that you are trying to run is giving you a Access Denied or No Permission type error, then running it as an administrator can usually give the program the permission it needs to run properly.

This tutorial will show you how to have a program Run as administrator with full unrestricted elevated rights and privileges in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

The Run as administrator option is not available for Metro Store apps. Run as administrator is only available for desktop apps (programs).

Note

Some legitimate applications require a full administrator access token to perform their functions or tasks. The User Account Control (UAC) message is displayed to request consent or credentials to allow an application to use the full administrator access token in any of the following circumstances:

The application developer marked the application to require an administrator access token. This is done by using a development technique known as an embedded manifest.

UAC detected that the application is an installer or setup application. (Automatic detection can be disabled by using Group Policy.)

Microsoft analyzed the application and provided an application compatibility shim. A shim is a small amount of extra code provided by Microsoft that supports certain non-Microsoft applications.

An administrator configured the application compatibility settings on the application's Program Properties page.

An interactive user right-clicked the application and then clicked Run as administrator to start the application.

Depending on what the UAC settings are set to, an administrator user may or may not be prompted first by UAC to allow or deny the program to "Run as administrator" (elevated).

A Standard user will not be able to run an elevated program without getting a UAC prompt to first enter an administrator's password to be allowed to.

Warning

You should only allow a shortcut or program that you trust to "run as administrator" since it will have full unrestricted access to everything on your computer until closed. This can be very bad if the program is malware.

OPTION ONE

To "Run as administrator" from Context Menu

NOTE:This option will only temporarily run the program as an administrator until closed.

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1. From the desktop or in Windows Explorer, right click or press and hold on a program's shortcut or an EXE, BAT, CMD, VBS, or MSI file, and click/tap on Run as administrator. (see screenshot below)​

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2. See the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

OPTION TWO

To "Run as administrator" from Start or Apps Screen

NOTE:This option will only temporarily run the program as an administrator until closed.

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1. From the Start or Apps screen, do either step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​

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2. Using the Application Bar​

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A) Right click or press and hold on a single program to check it, and click/tap on Run as administrator in the application bar at the bottom. (see screenshots below)​

NOTE: This is not available with Metro Store apps. You can only have one item selected (checked) for this to work.​

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B) Go to step 4 below.​

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3. Using Keyboard Shortcut​

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A) Use the arrow keys to select a program, then press and hold CTRL + SHIFT keys. (see screenshots below)​

NOTE: This will not work with Metro Store apps. ​

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B) Either press Enter or click/tap on the program, and release the CTRL + SHIFT keys. (see screenshots below)​

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C) Go to step 4 below.​

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4. See the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

OPTION THREE

To "Run as administrator" from Pinned Program on Taskbar

NOTE:This option will only temporarily run the program as an administrator until closed.

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1. Right click or press and hold on the icon of the pinned program on the taskbar to open it's Jump List. (see screenshot below)​

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2. In the Jump List, right click or press and hold on the program's name, and click/tap on Run as administrator. (see screenshot below)​

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3.See the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

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OPTION FOUR

To "Run as administrator" from Search Apps

NOTE:This option will only temporarily run the program as an administrator until closed.

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1. From the SearchApps screen, type the name of the program (ex: ccleaner) that you want to run as administrator, and do either step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​

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2. Using the Application Bar​

A) Right click or press and hold on a single program to check it, and click/tap on Run as administrator in the application bar at the bottom. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: This is not available with Metro Store apps. You can only have one item selected (checked) for this to work.​

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B) Go to step 4 below.​

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3. Using Keyboard Shortcut​

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A) Use the arrow keys to select a program, then press and hold CTRL + SHIFT keys. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: This will not work with Metro Store apps. ​

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B) Either press Enter or click/tap on the program, and release the CTRL + SHIFT keys. (see screenshot below)​

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C) Go to step 4 below.​

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4. See the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

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OPTION FIVE

To Set "Run as administrator" in Compatibilty Mode Properties

NOTE:This option will have the program set to either always or not run as an administrator when opened for only your account or all users.

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1. From the desktop or in Windows Explorer, right click or press and hold on a program's shortcut or an EXE file, and click/tap on the Compatibility tab.​

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2. Do step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshots below)​

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3. To Set "Run as administrator" Privilege Level For Only Your Account​

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A) Go to step 5 below.​

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4. To Set "Run as administrator" Privilege Level For All Users​

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A) Click/tap on the Change settings for all users button. (see top screenshot below step 2)​

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B) If prompted by UAC, then see the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

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5. Do step 6 or 7 below for what you would like to do.​

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6. To Always Run this Program as an Administrator​

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A) Check the Run this program as an administrator box, click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below step 2)​

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B) If you did step 4, then click/tap on OK. (see top screenshot below step 2)​

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C) Go to step 8 below.​

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7. To Not Always Run this Program as an Administrator​

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A) Uncheck the Run this program as an administrator box, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below step 2)​

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B) If you did step 4, then click/tap on OK. (see top screenshot below step 2)​

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C) Go to step 8 below.​

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8. Open the program, and see the blue NOTE box at top of tutorial.​

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OPTION SIX

To Set "Run as administrator" in Advanced Shortcut Properties

NOTE:This option will show you how to have only this specific shortcut of a program to always or not run as an administrator when you open it, and not from any other shortcut or .exe of the program.

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1. From the desktop or in Windows Explorer, right click or press and hold on a shortcut, and click/tap on Properties.​

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2. Click/tap on the Shortcut tab, click/tap on the Advanced button, and do either step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​

New Member

My Computer

Member

Hello! I have a Standard User account that I'd like to give access to run Photoshop. Currently when the user access the application she gets the UAC prompt and I need to log in. Is there a way to allow her to run Photoshop as an Admin without requiring the UAC prompt and my having to log in for her? I followed the instructions in Option 7 but it did not work. Please advise. Thanks!

New Member

I just found out something that I have not seen on the internet and wanted to throw my two cents in. This will run anything in that folder with administrator rights.

Create a folder anywhere.
Right click on folder and select > Properties > Security tab.
Click "Edit"
Click "Add" and enter "Everyone"
Click "OK"
In "Group or user names:" click on "Everyone"
In "Permissions for Everyone" click the top box - this will select all boxes.
Click "OK"
Now run programs and anything else as administrator by double clicking on it and not having to log into the administrator account.

My Computer

Administrator

I just found out something that I have not seen on the internet and wanted to throw my two cents in. This will run anything in that folder with administrator rights.

Create a folder anywhere.
Right click on folder and select > Properties > Security tab.
Click "Edit"
Click "Add" and enter "Everyone"
Click "OK"
In "Group or user names:" click on "Everyone"
In "Permissions for Everyone" click the top box - this will select all boxes.
Click "OK"
Now run programs and anything else as administrator by double clicking on it and not having to log into the administrator account.

New Member

What I was looking at is that anything placed in the Windows directory will "run as administrator"; I tested this with a font installation. The other setting I see is "Authenticated Users" which mimics "Everyone".

New Member

Can't do this with font, it only has a "Security" tab. Something weird just happened; I moved the font from the "Authenticated Users" folder to the desktop and the font will now install without "run as administrator" and it would not before. Checked the security on the desktop and it has not changed. Went got another copy of the font from a folder where it required "run as administrator" and placed it on the desktop and it will install also. Looks like Windows 8 has gone senile.